Luddite Hysteria
Responses to the impacts of new technologies on journalism practice are at increase and controversial and have created fear that the application of AI-enhanced (automated/robot) journalism is creating job (in)security among practicing journalists, and could eventually see many out of their job. To (dis)approve this hysteria, this work employed analytical survey and oral in-depth interview designs to ascertain the perception of journalists in Enugu state, Nigeria on automated journalism and its impact on their job (in)security. Anchored on technological determinism theory, this work surveyed 312 registered journalists in Enugu state. Weighted mean statistical tool of 5-point Likert scale was employed in data presentation. From the findings, there is low rate of adoption of automated journalism tools among the respondents (2.25). It was also found that media houses in Enugu state, Nigeria do not accept the use of automated journalism (1.92), owing to issue of unprofessionalism, limitedness of AI-automation to cover basic data from developing countries and lack of human angle to AI-automated media contents. In spite of these findings, most of the respondents feared that AI- automation might cost them their job in the future (3.74); and the tendencies that future rewards, recruitment, and promotion might be based on knowledge of AI by media house managements (3.61). Again, there exists an overwhelming claim (3.22) that media reliance on freelancers for media contents has reduced due to journalists’ knowledge of artificial intelligence. To this overwhelming hysteria, respondents (3.55) agreed that they are learning/ preparing to learn AI-automation to ensure their job security. The researchers therefore recommends that journalists should innovate in the line of artificial intelligence as future of journalism to enable them get equipped for technological demands on modern journalism and not as means of job security..
